Description/Objective
Students learn to see vertical, horizontal, diagonal and curved lines by drawing fish. Students learn or review how lines, shapes and colors create pattern and how overlapping shapes create the illusion of three dimensional space. The finished fish drawing is colored with markers and the ocean is painted with watercolor and salt.
Time
1 1/2 hours
Materials
Photographs or reproduce handouts of fish
8-1/2" x 11" or 11" x 14" white exact vellum bristol (1 per student)
#2 pencils and erasers (1 per student)
Permanent non-toxic black fine tip markers (1 per student)
Thin colored waterbase markers (selection for each group)
Watercolor paint - turquoise, blue and purple
Rock salt (purchase at supermarket)
#8 or #10 brushes (1 per student)
3/4" drafting tape for border on edge of paper (1-2 rolls, 60 yd.) OPTIONAL
Water containers
Procedure
1. Optional - Teacher or older students should tape border before start of activity and carefully, slowly "untape" after work is dry to create white border.
2. Demonstrate drawing the shape of the fish body. Draw the fish body on the diagonal if that is what you see on the reproduced handout. Now draw all the smaller parts lightly with your pencil. Look for vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and curved lines. The mouth is usually a diagonal line. The gills are curved lines. The tail is symmetrical - both sides match.
3. Pass out the paper, pencils and erasers.
4. Give each child a fish reproduction. Tell them to draw one or two big fish and a few smaller fish. Demonstrate how the illusion of three dimensional space can be created by overlapping shapes (a stem of seaweed overlapping a fish, one fish overlapping the other). Explain that overlapping means when one object is in front of another. Demonstrate drawing only part of the object that is behind. It is okay to have part of the fish go off the paper. Remind the students not to add texture with their pencils. Draw shapes only. When the fish are complete, draw simple seaweed shapes or rocks. Explain negative and positive shape.
5. Give each child a thin permanent marker. Have them trace the pencil shapes and add texture to the fish and plants. Remind students about pattern made by repetition of line (straight, curved, etc.), repetition of shape (big circle, little circle) and repetition of color (red, green, red, green, etc.) Tell students that patterns are often found in nature. Have them think of some examples of patterns on animals, fish, etc. (stripes, circles, scallops, etc.)
6. The fish and plants are colored with bright, thin, waterbase markers.
7. Paint the water with shades of turquoise, blue and purple watercolor. Add rock salt to a wet area as you paint. The salt crystallizes. Allow the salt to stay on the paper until completely dry and then brush off.
Subject Matter Integration
SCIENCE: This project fits will in an ocean unit. Students learn the names of parts of a fish and the different parts of the ocean where sea life is found (sandy beach, kelp forest, deep ocean).
LANGUAGE ARTS: Write a poem using ocean words picked out of a word bowl.
Variations/Extensions
1. Create a rain forest painting. Follow the same lesson structure. Distribute photographs of rain forest animals for the students to draw and color. Work with the concept of darkness near the forest floor and bright color toward the top. Use saran wrap in the wet watercolor, leaving on until dry. This will form an interesting pattern for leaves and rocks.
2. Make a fish print with a "real" flat fish. The fish must be dry. Use waterbase black ink and a brayer to roll on the ink onto the fish. Place paper on top of fish and press with finger tips to achieve an impression of the fish.
3. Create a "resist" painting by using oil pastels with the watercolors. Instead of using black markers, students trace over the pencil lines with oil pastels. Watercolors are painted over the oil pastel colors which acts as a resist( color will not penetrate the oil pastels).
4. This same project can be done with colored tissue paper (the type which bleeds) instead of watercolor paint. Tissue is placed on the area where color is desired and brushed over with water. The color will bleed onto the paper and then the tissue can be lifted off.